France has achieved remarkable road safety results in the last decade. It almost halved its road fatalities from 2002 to 2005, and the decreasing trend has continued. Most of these reductions are attributed to rigorous speed control, particularly by automated cameras and the issuance of speed tickets. Drunk driving, however, remains a major problem as […]
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When religion and safety clash, who wins?
Rafael Consunji sent me this interesting and somewhat troubling report about a recent law in Aceh, Indonesia that would prohibit women from ‘straddling’ motorcycles or bicycles. He said “this is causing an uproar in Indonesia. The driving force behind the law is not safety but concern about breaking Shari’a law when straddling. The Jakarta Globe […]
Billboard industry uses disputed research to support safety of electronic sign
A report on FairWarning calls attention to a study from Sweden revealing that drivers stare longer at electronic billboards which may, in turn, increase the risk of a crash. In response the U.S. billboard industry has cited “an unpublished U.S. government study” that purports to deny that these displays affect traffic safety. The wrinkle is […]
What do we use as an indicator of intervention success?
Earlier this week I commented on the insight into research deficits which can be highlighted in reviews of the extant literature. In particular, I commented on the need for consistent and complete data collection which is suitable for a variety of research purposes and which ultimately can inform the development and refinement of policy and […]
Reviews not only keep us informed, they highlight research deficits
Reviews such as the “Graduated Driver Licensing Research Review, 2010 – Present” released in November by the AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety (see link below) provide an excellent summary of recent research for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers alike. Williams, Tefft and Grabowski succinctly summarise a multitude of research projects. Perhaps most importantly, however, is their […]
A new distraction? Mind wandering drivers
The online BMJ Dec 13 published a fascinating French study that Raffi Consunji brought to my attention. It suggests that drivers whose minds wander may be responsible for as many as half of all car crashes. The study was aiming to identify dangerous driving distractions in order to develop technologies that can alert drivers. When you […]
This speaks for itself
“In 2011, there were 2,015 homicides of infants, children and teenagers in the United States. Of those killed, 1,534 were male, while 478 were female. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation firearms were used in almost 63% of the murders.” This statement appears on a shocking graphic that is part of a piece […]
Wedding gunfire electrocutes 25 people
Celebratory gunfire brought down an electric cable at a house in a village in Saudi Arabia. This may have caused a fire that killed 23 women and children or the powerline may have fallen on a metal door electrocuting the victims. Saudi Arabia last month banned the shooting of firearms at weddings, a popular tradition […]
WHO urges Thailand to enforce traffic laws
It appears that Thailand has solid traffic injury prevention laws but as is true of far too many other countries they are not enforced. This paradox applies to speeding, seatbelt use, drunk driving and motorcycle helmet use. Editor: I found it bizarre that in response one official said, “The first thing that must be done […]
Are we being too safe?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323622904578129063506832312.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. This a link to a fairly recent Wall Street Journal article, Playing It Too Safe, which essentially argues that children should take more risks. It is a bit more nuanced than many of the ‘school of hard knocks’ rhetoric and thus worth reading. I don’t agree with the view but you might. If you […]